‘Ominous’ voicemail leads to discovery of two gunshot victims in home, Ohio cops say

A husband and wife were found dead in an Ohio home after deputies learned one of them had sent an “ominous” voicemail, according to local authorities and news reports.

A man requested a welfare check to the West Township home on Monday, Nov. 18, after he received a 28-minute “ominous-sounding voicemail” from Jason Hilaire, the Columbiana County Sheriff’s Office told Jordan Miller News.

In the voicemail, Hilaire voiced “a bunch of regrets” and said he “wished his life was going better right now,” WFMJ reported, citing the sheriff.

Dispatchers then received a second call stating a son had found his mother and stepfather dead in the home. Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to the residence and found the couple dead with gunshot wounds, authorities said.

The incident is being investigated as a murder-suicide, Sheriff Brian McLaughlin said in an email to McClatchy News.

It’s believed Hilaire, 50, shot his 37-year-old wife, Vanessa Chester, then died by suicide, McLaughlin told the Morning Journal.

The couple’s 16-year-old son and his younger sister were placed in the care of Child Protective Services, WFMJ reported.

Chester and Hilaire were both air traffic controllers and military veterans, according to a GoFundMe.

“Besides her job in ATC, Vanessa’s main focus in life was raising her two children, Haiden and Heidi,” the GoFundMe says. “Her passion was creating things for them, whether it be costumes for school or helping them decorate their room. Vanessa could always be found spending time with her family.”

West Township is about an 80-mile drive southeast from Cleveland.

This story was originally published November 25, 2024 at 8:34 AM with the headline "‘Ominous’ voicemail leads to discovery of two gunshot victims in home, Ohio cops say."